By Cristy Lytal

Louise Menendez (Photo by Cristy Lytal)

Louise Menendez, the newest assistant professor in USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, credits her mother as her first role model for career success.

Both of Menendez’s parents work in the computer software field, and immigrated from France to Petaluma, California during the 1980s tech boom. For her mother, this meant pursuing a career in a field that was largely male-dominated.

“My mom maintained her own work identity while raising a family,” said Menendez. “She had a really strong work ethic, and motivated me to always want to do a good job at what I was doing.”

Similar to her mother, Menendez’s passions and talents inspired her to pursue a career in a historically male-dominated arena.

“When Title IX passed into law in 1972 and outlawed sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal funding, it paved the way for more females in academia and female professors,” said Menendez. “And I know that it paved a way for more women in science, and more diversity in science as well. But overarchingly, in academics, it has been a male-dominated world, and even more specifically, white males.” (…Read More)